The band Chicago is returning to Upstate New York again this week and will perform at the Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center July 25.
Dubbed decades ago as the rock ’n’ roll band with horns, they have sold well over 100 million albums since they formed in 1967 and are near the apex on the short list of bestselling American recording artists: 21 Top 10 singles, five consecutive No. 1 albums, 11 No. 1 singles, and five Gold singles. Incredibly, 25 of their 38 albums have been certified platinum. They hold the additional distinction of having toured every year since forming in 1967, an amazing feat.
The band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. In 2024, there are still three original members in the band that have been there since day one: James Pankow (trombone), Robert Lamm (keyboards, vocals, guitar), and Lee Loughnane (trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals).
Longtime fans love to reminisce about the band’s 1970s non-stop hit days and sing along with songs penned by either Lamm or Pankow (who were both inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017): “25 or 6 To 4,” “Question 67 & 68,” “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is,” “Make Me Smile,” “Color My World,” “Saturday In The Park,” “Free,” “Just You And Me,” “I’ve Been Searching So Long,” “Old Days” and “Feeling Stronger Every Day” (co-written with Peter Cetera). The album Chicago 10 (June 1976) included the band’s first No. 1 hit “If You Leave Me Now” and two Grammy Awards. The ’80s brought renewed success and more fans along with two more mega hits like “Hard For Me To Say I’m Sorry”, “Hard Habit To Break” and “Look Away” (their biggest-selling single).
After a lengthy residency performing in Las Vegas earlier this year, the band embarked on their 2024 summer tour, performing close to 40 dates while co-headlining with Earth, Wind and Fire that will take them well into autumn. The CMAC date this week, however, is the lone date in the continental United States this summer they will headline solo.
Fans could easily go online to investigate what songs the band has been doing thus far, but for the upcoming CMAC concert, the band will have more time to expand their set list. What better way to find out more about what they have planned than to ask original member Lee Loughnane (who wrote the hit “Call On Me”) directly about the band’s plans for this particular show.
“Yeah, that’s right, the CMAC show will be just Chicago,” Loughnane said. “We’ll start right at the beginning with ‘Introduction,’ the first song from the first album, and after that go through a cross-section of our entire career. We’ll be doing all our hits and end the show with ’25 or 6 to 4.’ We’re bringing our whole game with us and try to make it sound as if we’re playing these songs for the first time.
“You will not be disappointed, I can assure you that,” he added emphatically.
There have been several personnel changes over the band’s 57 years. When members leave and new musicians join the ranks, the question comes up, how do they contribute to the band’s sound?
“There have been gradual changes in the musical arrangements over the years but what you’ve heard on the records over the years are pretty much still in tact,” Loughnane said. “When someone new joins the band, they can listen to the records and the live versions and figure out how they’re going to have to fit in. The arrangements over the years have always been interesting to us and we have to keep our chops together to be able to cut ‘em so it’s musically engaging for us every night.”
Being on a long tour, especially after doing that for so many years, can become a real grind. Most musicians will honestly tell you they absolutely love the gigs, really get into interacting with their audiences, and live for those wonderful moments on stage, but don’t hesitate at all to point out it’s the traveling and all that goes with that aspect that become tiresome and draining. Chicago is no exception, although they have come up with the right balance of gigs, travel and time off.
When asked if he enjoys spending time milling about in a location while on tour, such as beautiful Canandaigua, taking in the sights and the atmosphere before a concert, Loughnane says, “I practice every day (pauses) and on off days I just might do exactly that, but normally I don’t do that much anymore. I did more when I was younger. It’s also nice to just sit, relax beforehand and look out the window and take it in. I enjoy that as well.”
Manlius resident Warren Linhart has 43 years of studio audio and remote television production experience in news, commercial production, writing copy, sporting and entertainment results, and telethons. He worked 41 years at WSYR-TV in Syracuse, and has been a contributing writer and concert photographer with the Syracuse Advance Media Group since 2007.
